Foxconn hopes to make up for its logistical delay in iPhone production by hiring new workers en masse at its Shenzhen factories. The company, still hampered by the Covid, has had difficult months.
Foxconn is getting into battle order for the release of the iPhone 14. The industrial group, Apple’s historic partner in the design of its smartphone, has just launched a major hiring campaign in its factories in China to produce the long-awaited device. The company promises bonuses to all employees who will work there for more than four months, and has even undertaken to rehire former employees who left recently, with the same pay as before, according to the company. South China Morning Post.
Foxconn tries to recover
This wave of summer hiring comes a few months before the release of the iPhone 14, which should take place in September, but especially after a difficult period for the company. Foxconn has been hit hard by the health crisis for the past two years, due to the very strict “zero Covid” policy implemented by the Chinese government. Last March, its factory was simply shut down due to a new confinement in the city of Shenzhen (southern China). In May, the company froze its new hires for the same reasons, keeping its employees confined to the site to maintain the pace.
Foxconn manufactures more than 80% of iPhones distributed worldwide. The health constraints of recent months have therefore cast doubt on the company’s ability to produce the new generation of smartphones. The latest rumors, however, suggest that the iPhone 14, 14 Plus 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max will be launched next September. Apple therefore seems optimistic about its partners’ ability to produce enough iPhones to meet demand.
The threat of Covid still looms
Always according to South China Morning Post, the apple firm would however be evaluating the possibility of relocating part of its production chain outside of China. Vietnam or India would be considered, but the lack of skilled labor for these positions as well as more political issues have for the moment put Apple’s ambitions on hold.
We will have to wait until next September to find out if Foxconn’s efforts have paid off. In a context of epidemic resumption, the situation nevertheless remains complex. It could therefore be that the iPhone 14 arrives in limited quantities at the start of the school year.